cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Bill Clears House
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Marijuana Bill Clears House
Posted by CN Staff on March 11, 2010 at 04:20:02 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Nashua Telegraph
Concord, NH -- New Hampshire's House voted Wednesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, but the victory was followed immediately by the governor's pledge to veto the bill. The House voted 214-137 to send a bill to the Senate to allow adults to possess one-quarter ounce or less of the substance. It also would decriminalize transporting less than one-quarter ounce of the drug.
Anyone under age 18 caught with one-quarter ounce or less would be subject to a $200 fine. The youth's parents would be notified and he or she would have to complete a drug awareness program and community service within one year of the violation. Failing to comply would result in a $1,000 fine.Wednesday's vote comes seven months after Gov. John Lynch vetoed legalizing medical use of the drug. Lynch also opposes the new House bill, and immediately after the House vote said he would veto it."Marijuana is a controlled drug that remains illegal under federal law. I share the law enforcement community's concerns about proliferation of this drug," Lynch said. "In addition, New Hampshire parents are struggling to keep their kids away from marijuana and other drugs. We should not make the jobs of parents - or law enforcement - harder by sending a false message that some marijuana use is acceptable."Opponents agreed the bill would send a bad message to New Hampshire citizens, particularly youth. They said marijuana is addictive and can lead to abusing other drugs.State Rep. William Butynski, D-Hinsdale, said comparisons shouldn't be made with the bill approved last year to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. That bill required a doctor's oversight and created centers to dispense the drug."There are no controls in this bill," he said.He said prosecutors couldn't plea bargain because the penalty would be a violation.Rep. Joel Winters, D-Manchester, said that was the whole point of the bill."Prosecutors aren't going to be able to threaten jail time for small amounts of marijuana," he said.Winters noted the bill calls for parents to be notified if police catch minors with the drug."Parents will tell you they'd rather deal with this over the kitchen table than in a courtroom," Winters said.Decriminalizing marijuana has been debated for years but gained some steam in the Legislature after Democrats took control in 2006.The House passed a bill in 2008 that made possession of up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana punishable by a $200 fine instead of a misdemeanor that could have resulted in a sentence of up to a year in jail and fines up to $2,000. The bill did not make an exception for minors. The Senate killed it after Lynch said he would veto it for sending the wrong message to youth.Last year, the House killed a decriminalization bill and instead approved legislation to narrow the focus to use by severely ill people. That bill would have established three nonprofit "compassion centers" to dispense 2 ounces of marijuana every 10 days to severely ill people whose doctors approved the drug's use. The state would have licensed the centers and issued identification cards to their staff, approved patients and caregivers.In vetoing the bill, Lynch cited concerns over distribution and cultivation and the potential for abuse. He also said the bill did not clearly restrict marijuana use to people suffering severe pain, seizures of nausea.The House overrode the veto, but the Senate fell two votes short and the bill died.Bill supporters vowed to bring it back in 2011. In the meantime, state Rep. Steven Lindsey, a Keene Democrat, proposed the pending decriminalization measure.Fourteen states have medical marijuana laws and 13 have decriminalization laws, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.Source: Nashua Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH)Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010Copyright: 2010 Telegraph Publishing CompanyContact: letters nashuatelegraph.comWebsite: http://www.nashuatelegraph.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/0R1p4cuGCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on April 18, 2010 at 13:32:40 PT
NH Sen To Vote on Bill Decriminalizing Marijuana
April 18, 2010 Concord, N.H. -- New Hampshire's Senate votes Wednesday whether to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults.The Judiciary Committee recommended unanimously that the Senate kill the bill passed by the House. The bill would allow adults to possess one-quarter ounce or less of the substance. It also would decriminalize transporting less than one-quarter ounce of the drug.Anyone under age 18 caught with one-quarter ounce or less would be subject to a $200 fine. The youth's parents would be notified and he or she would have to complete a drug awareness program and community service within one year of the violation. Failing to comply would result in a $1,000 fine.Gov. John Lynch says he will veto the bill if it reaches him.Copyright: 2010 Associated PressURL: http://drugsense.org/url/NV0fnHEK
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Comment #12 posted by runruff on March 12, 2010 at 04:09:12 PT
"maybe not technically a drug "
Refined sugar is a stimulant to the central nervous system and has -0- nutritional value.What does that sound like?
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Comment #11 posted by Paint with light on March 11, 2010 at 22:52:04 PT
The children
"We should not make the jobs of parents - or law enforcement - harder by sending a false message that some marijuana use is acceptable."We should send a true message that all cannabis use by adults is acceptable."Opponents agreed the bill would send a bad message to New Hampshire citizens, particularly youth."I guess they think it is better to keep telling the youth that heroin is as safe as cannabis.....,....and cocaine and meth are safer.That is what the scheduling says."They said marijuana is addictive and can lead to abusing other drugs."As addictive as coffee and might make you start abusing other drugs like.....sugar(maybe not technically a drug but still harmful in excess).Legal like alcohol or coffee.
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Comment #10 posted by Shielde on March 11, 2010 at 17:17:57 PT
A couple of facts mentioned
The program mentioned toward the end that even though cotton is only a small percentage of the world's crops it uses 25% of the total pesticide used world wide.Also they mentioned that cotton production got a boost due to new machinery in the 1930s. I guess that once hemp was out of the eyes of the equation the manufactures could work on industrializing only one type of machinery for clothing production.
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Comment #9 posted by ekim on March 11, 2010 at 17:08:24 PT
you are on target Shielde-look at the date on this
http://cannabisnews.com/news/11/thread11260.shtml world fashion increasingly moves toward simplicity, comfort and health protection, experts point out that hemp, a major economic crop in China, could have great market prospects after the nation's entry into the World Trade Organization. Now ask yourself what have we done with the last 9 years since seeing this in print.
Why has every farmer told by the DEA this plant has no benefit at all.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 11, 2010 at 17:05:03 PT
Shielde
I thought this was interesting.Excerpt: Jacob Davis was a tailor who frequently purchased bolts of cloth made from hemp from Levi Strauss & Co.'s wholesale house.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi's#History
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Comment #7 posted by Shielde on March 11, 2010 at 16:39:05 PT
A bit off topic
I'm middle way through watching a Modern Marvel episode about cotton. The only mention of any competition to cotton is first wool, then they briefly mention chemically made cloths such as polyester clothing. Then they go on to mention the chemical things that can be made from cotton and feed.
It talks about denim being the reason cotton has gained popularity but never mentions jeans were originally made from canvas, which to my memory was derived from industrial hemp not cotton although i could be wrong
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Comment #6 posted by ekim on March 11, 2010 at 09:09:44 PT
what is the cost benifit analysis of this law
seems a FIA on how many arrests have been made would
shed some lite on how much the State is spending.On courts- leo time- jail space- probation officers time-and how much in state prison as many parole violations are
for thc in test.how much would this law save the taxpayers.
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Comment #5 posted by Vincent on March 11, 2010 at 08:20:19 PT:
I do not understand
...why Gov. Lynch is such a brainwashed ass!
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Comment #4 posted by christ on March 11, 2010 at 08:19:54 PT
the right message
The only message this bill will send to the community is that Gov. Lynch is out of touch with the voters... perhaps unless there is an override.
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Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on March 11, 2010 at 08:05:53 PT
A veto does not belong in a democracy
or a country that calls itself democratic!
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on March 11, 2010 at 06:35:28 PT
It is simple math!
Either our liberties are being added or subtracted?This is not E=MC2!
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Comment #1 posted by ezrydn on March 11, 2010 at 05:56:32 PT:
Still on the Addictive Kick
If there's one thing the DrugWar proves, it's that Cannabis is NOT addictive and Prohibition is Highly Addictive.The gov seems to think the bill sends the wrong message to the commuities. Doesn't he understand that the legislature represents the will of the community? Evidently, New Hampshire doesn't have proposition capability. If they did, then the people should send a resonant message to the gov.
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